Jason Burton on LLMs and collective intelligence, algorithmic amplification, AI in deliberative processes, and decentralized networks

“When you get a response from a language model, it’s a bit like a response from a crowd of people, shaped by the preferences of countless individuals.”

– Jason Burton

About Jason Burton

Jason Burton is an assistant professor at Copenhagen Business School and an Alexander von Humboldt Research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. His research applies computational methods to studying human behavior in a digital society, including reasoning in online information environments and collective intelligence.

LinkedIn: Jason William Burton

Google Scholar page: Jason Burton

University Profile (Copenhagen Business School): Jason Burton

What you will learn

• Exploring AI’s role in collective intelligence
• How large language models simulate crowd wisdom
• Benefits and risks of AI-driven decision-making
• Using language models to streamline collaboration
• Addressing the homogenization of thought in AI
• Civic tech and AI’s potential in public discourse
• Future visions for AI in enhancing group intelligence

Episode Resources

• Nature Human Behavior
• How Large Language Models Can Reshape Collective Intelligence
• ChatGPT
• Max Planck Institute for Human Development
• Reinforcement learning from human feedback
• DeepMind
• Digital twin
• Wikipedia
• Algorithmic Amplification and Society
• Wisdom of the crowd
• Recommender system
• Decentralized autonomous organizations
• Civic technology
• Collective intelligence
• Deliberative democracy
• Echo chambers
• Post-truth

People

• Jürgen Habermas
• Dave Rand
• Ulrika Hahn
• Helena Landemore

Transcript

Ross: Ross, Jason, it is wonderful to have you on the show.

Jason Burton: Hi, Ross. Thanks for having me.

Ross: So yo